Chapter 311: Entertainment Industry |
Watching the show!
Indeed, it was exciting!
The New Policies had been brewing for so long, and it was finally about to arrive.
Both the reform and conservative factions had already prepared themselves, ready to have a major battle with their opponents.
However, in history, Wang Anshi had directly issued government decrees rather than go through newspapers.
There was a tremendous difference between the two.
Because historically, the conservative side was filled with talented people, and the scholar-officials controlled public opinion. Hence, the debates were mainly concentrated within the imperial court, causing public opinion to always be unfavorable to Wang Anshi, almost one-sided.
The emperor heard nothing but negative news about the New Policies.
The appearance of newspapers undoubtedly broke their monopoly on public opinion. Wang Anshi could directly face the people and clearly articulate his principles in the newspapers, as well as the reasons for doing so.
As Zhang Fei had said, this was a standard publicity effort that was certainly effective, though it could be done even better.
“What’s wrong?”
After leaving Pan Inn, Zhang Fei noticed Xu Zhiqian’s sullen silence and couldn’t help but ask.
Xu Zhiqian glanced at him: “Previously, I always believed that Academician Wang’s New Policies were almost perfect, but after hearing their debate just now, I… I also think what Mister Su and the others said made sense. If there are disasters, the court should first think of reducing and exempting taxes, rather than converting tax obligations into money payments. Everyone knows the harm of conversion, and who can guarantee there won’t be corruption in the process?”
Zhang Fei smiled: “No person is perfect, no law is perfect—it’s all about how to make trade-offs. Without conversion, this entire system simply wouldn’t work. Academician Wang’s vision is to obtain money from disaster areas, then purchase at low prices from areas with good harvests. If money isn’t collected here, how can purchases be made there?”
Wang Anshi’s entire reform philosophy was to improve finances, not to improve people’s livelihood—at most it could be said to put the state before the people. Looking at Wang Anshi’s entire reform, many regulations indeed reduced the people’s burden, but not one directly reduced taxes.
The core was to make money for the state.
Of course, this was also the reason Emperor Zhao Xu fully supported him.
“But…!”
“But what? Such matters aren’t for us to decide. Just watch the show. I heard there’s a good football match today—it seems to be United Cloud Society versus Gentle Breeze Society. Let’s go watch.”
“A football match?”
Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei with surprise: “Since when have you been interested in football matches?”
Zhang Fei always said she was a workaholic, but actually, in her impression, Zhang Fei was also a workaholic.
So far, all their shared memories were work-related.
She didn’t know whether to be happy or sad about this.
Zhang Fei smiled: “I have very little interest in football matches in general, but if I’m watching with you, that’s completely different.”
Xu Zhiqian’s heart leaped with joy. She glanced at Zhang Fei shyly, hesitated slightly, then said quietly: “Perhaps we should go another time. The law firm is so busy right now, and we’re short-staffed.”
“Today is our last chance to catch our breath. Tomorrow will definitely be busier. Besides, it’s just one morning—it won’t delay anything.”
“What do you mean, last chance to catch our breath?”
“Let’s go!”
Zhang Fei directly took Xu Zhiqian’s small hand, got into the carriage, and headed straight for the football field.
“Good!”
“That was beautiful!”
“What a fine move!”
As soon as they entered the football field, they heard deafening cheers.
“Is it this intense?”
Zhang Fei looked around and saw that the field in the middle was about half the size of a modern soccer field, with six people on each side. A wooden frame stood in the center with a net stretched across it, and in the net was a round hole—known as the “charming eye.”
It was somewhat like volleyball, where the ball couldn’t touch the ground, except it was played with feet instead of hands. The attacking side had to kick the ball through the eye into the opponent’s half.
This was much harder than volleyball.
Suddenly, drums and gongs sounded, and the cheering from the sidelines became hoarse with excitement.
“Did someone score?”
Zhang Fei quickly asked.
Xu Zhiqian nodded: “United Cloud Society just scored a point.”
“United Cloud Society?”
Zhang Fei looked around: “Are they the ones in blue and white uniforms?”
Xu Zhiqian hummed in agreement, then asked: “Don’t you understand the game?”
“Not very well.”
Zhang Fei looked around again and saw a large crowd of spectators all dressed in white: “Are all those people in white clothes supporters of United Cloud Society?”
Xu Zhiqian nodded and said: “United Cloud Society has always used blue sky and white clouds as their team colors, so supporters of United Cloud Society all wear white clothing to support them during matches.”
“Incredible!”
Zhang Fei exclaimed in amazement: “This is truly incredible.”
Xu Zhiqian asked: “What’s incredible?”
“Culture!”
“Culture?”
“Yes! I really never imagined that football culture has developed so well.”
“You didn’t know this?”
Xu Zhiqian suddenly pointed toward a high platform across the way, “Look over there.”
Zhang Fei looked up, “Look at what?”
“The people sitting on that platform are all imperial relatives and nobility. Whether in the palace or among the common people, football is extremely popular.”
“Good! Very good!”
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded.
“What’s very good?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Zhang Fei shook his head, then suddenly fixed his gaze on a spot and walked over. He came up behind two young men in uniform and stuck his head between them, turning left and right to peek, “Hey, you two aren’t working your shifts and came here to watch the match instead?”
“Ah!”
“Zhang San!”
“Brother San?”
These two were none other than Cao Dongdong and Ma Xiaoyi.
“Zhang San, how did you get here?” Cao Dongdong asked.
Zhang Fei said seriously: “Something happened at the police station, your father sent me to find you.”
Behind him, Xu Zhiqian listened and smiled with pursed lips, thinking to herself that this man could lie without batting an eye.
Cao Dongdong snorted: “Who are you trying to fool? My father is sitting right across there, accompanying my grandaunt to watch the match.”
Zhang Fei was slightly startled, “The Empress Dowager also came to watch the match?”
Cao Dongdong said: “This is the autumn finals. Originally His Majesty was going to come watch too, but he had urgent business at the last minute.”
“Is that so?”
Zhang Fei stroked his chin, his eyes flickering with delight.
“Sister Qian! Sister Qian!”
Suddenly they heard a clear voice calling out.
Zhang Fei turned around and saw a young girl waving at Xu Zhiqian from in front of a wooden pavilion in that area.
Xu Zhiqian said quietly: “I’ll go over there for a moment.”
Zhang Fei nodded: “Alright.”
When the girl called out like that, quite a few people noticed them.
“Lady Xu!”
“Oh my! Lady Xu has come.”
Many people in the stands looked at Xu Zhiqian with pleasant surprise.
Zhang Fei was stunned and asked: “Why are they so excited to see Zhiqian?”
Cao Dongdong said in bewilderment: “Don’t you know? Lady Xu used to be one of the top female football players in the capital, she was quite famous.”
Zhang Fei asked in surprise: “Really?”
Fu Shichun nearby suddenly said: “Football, swinging, and polo – Lady Xu was skilled at all of them.”
“Really?”
Zhang Fei couldn’t help but mutter to himself, how come I’ve never seen her play any of these? I’ll have to interrogate her properly later.
“Brother San, do you also like football?” Ma Xiaoyi suddenly asked.
“Oh, I just came to accompany Zhiqian to take a look.” Zhang Fei then asked them: “Do you really enjoy watching these football matches?”
Ma Xiaoyi said: “Who doesn’t like them?”
Cao Dongdong snorted: “I used to spend some time at United Cloud Society too. It’s a pity my father wouldn’t let me continue later, otherwise I’d be a main player for United Cloud Society now.”
Fu Shichun said: “Stop bragging. Could you beat the Qi brothers?”
“I just stopped practicing later, otherwise I’d definitely be stronger than them. Little Ma, don’t you think so?”
“I also think the Qi brothers are more skilled.”
“Little Ma?”
“Brother, look quickly, United Cloud Society scored again.”
“What’s so good about that! I now solemnly declares that from now on, I support Gentle Breeze Society.”
Zhang Fei watched them bicker, as if he had returned to his student days when he and his classmates would watch NBA games on TV, also watching and arguing at the same time.
This connection made him feel very strange.
Indeed! In a commercial society, these entertainment activities would inevitably flourish. Zhang Fei looked up again at the audience in the stands, lost in thought.
“Zhang San! Zhang San!”
“Ah?”
Zhang Fei looked at Fu Shichun and asked: “What did you say?”
Fu Shichun asked curiously: “You didn’t come to watch the match, did you?”
Zhang Fei asked: “What do you mean by that?”
Fu Shichun smiled: “Your gaze seems to have been on the stands the whole time.”
Zhang Fei smiled: “I just think the spectators in the stands all seem to be dressed quite well, not like ordinary common people.”
Fu Shichun said: “This is the finals, ordinary common people won’t have the money to come watch.”
Zhang Fei nodded and said: “That’s true.”
He turned his gaze back to the field, and saw the small ball jumping back and forth under the feet and over the heads of the players from both sides, like a butterfly flitting through flowers.
Honestly, Zhang Fei asked himself whether he could play this well even using his hands, thinking, this is way too difficult.
He saw a handsome man on the field suddenly perform a side flip, then smoothly kick a powerful shot.
The small leather ball streaked through the wind like a meteor and passed the ‘charming eye’.
Zhang Fei watched with his mouth agape – was this kung fu soccer?
Ma Xiaoyi jumped up: “There it is, the Soaring White Beam!”
The atmosphere on the sidelines exploded.
The spectators shouted in unison: “Qi Bai!”
“Now that’s the feeling, that’s the feeling!” Zhang Fei nodded with a smile.
In the end, United Cloud Society defeated Gentle Breeze Society three to nothing, defending the honor of being the top society in the capital.
Just like in later generations, these spectators were still unsatisfied and ran off to nearby taverns, drinking while enthusiastically discussing the match.
Xu Zhiqian was dragged away by her sisters, so Zhang Fei could only follow Cao Dongdong and the others to find a tavern nearby.
Zhang Fei looked at the very lavish spreads on the surrounding tables: “They all seem to be wealthy people!”
Fu Shichun smiled: “Don’t you know? This football originally only flourished in the palace, and has only gradually spread to the common districts in recent years, so naturally those who most love watching football matches are those wealthy young masters.”
“Really?”
Zhang Fei said: “I really didn’t know that. Tell me about these football matches.”
Ma Xiaoyi immediately began explaining the football matches to Zhang Fei in great detail.
Bianjing had eighteen societies in total, organized like military units, with specialized coaches. Each society also had specific regulations, dedicated promotional teams, and organized competitions every year.
Not only that, every year or two there were international matches between Song and Liao, symbolizing friendship between the two nations, though last year’s was held in the Liao state.
“I never imagined it was so well-developed.” Zhang Fei frowned slightly, then asked: “Are there prize money or similar rewards for winning the finals?”
Cao Dongdong said: “Of course there are! And quite a lot too.”
“Really?”
Zhang Fei asked: “Where does this prize money come from?”
Cao Dongdong said: “Many high officials and nobles donate considerable money to them every year. Also, spectators have to pay to enter and watch. The winners take fifty percent of this money, the losers can only take twenty percent, and the remaining thirty percent goes to the guild to organize the competitions.”
Zhang Fei nodded.
Fu Shichun asked suspiciously: “Zhang San, you didn’t really come to watch the match today, did you?”
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment, then said: “I’m planning to invest heavily in these football matches.”
“Ah?”
Ma Xiaoyi asked in surprise: “Brother San, are you going to organize competitions?”
Zhang Fei said: “To be precise, not me, but us.”
“Us?”
“Yes, the charitable organization.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea.” Cao Dongdong’s eyes lit up. “Why have I never thought of organizing football matches myself?”
Fu Shichun smiled: “You’re being a bit fanciful. These football matches have always been monopolized by their guild – they would never give you a piece of the pie.”
Zhang Fei said: “What if it were a new type of football? Then we could bypass the guild.”
“What new type of football?”
Ma Xiaoyi excitedly kicked his feet and squatted directly on his chair.
Zhang Fei smiled: “We’ll find a venue later and discuss the specifics then.”
The key to the charitable organization was investment – he needed to make money. Currently the most profitable industry was real estate, but due to institutional issues, real estate had always been jointly controlled by high officials, nobles, and realtors.
Even the last scraps had been given to the Ma family.
There was no profit left to be made in the real estate industry.
Without land, what was the point of talking about real estate?
As for production, any goods with demand had already been completely divided up by various workshops.
Now the capital even had public carriages and rental carriages – without improving productivity, there was virtually nothing profitable left.
Should he invent glass to make money?
Although Zhang Fei knew the basic principles of glass-making, using current technology for production and eventual mass production would require enormous amounts of money and a very long time, with no guarantee of results.
That movable type printing had nearly bankrupted Zhang Fei back then.
Zhang Fei didn’t dare even think about it.
By the time that succeeded, the charitable organization might have long since collapsed.
After thinking it over, Zhang Fei finally decided to enter the entertainment industry.
Because Bianjing possessed all the conditions for developing the entertainment industry: many citizens, many wealthy people, a commercial society, and an urban economy.
Actually, when Zhang Fei initially decided to establish a charitable organization, he had already been observing the entire economic structure of Bianjing.
He was mainly looking for a business that could absorb large amounts of capital investment.
Major commodities like grain, salt, alcohol, and sugar were basically under court regulation, and powerful families were entrenched everywhere in these trades, making such businesses unreliable.
After calculating everything, only the entertainment industry could swallow such a massive investment.
At the time, he had two choices: first, invest in pleasure quarters and entertainment districts; second, invest in football and establish a new league.
However, given that there were no microphones at present, the influence that pleasure quarters and entertainment districts could create was very limited, while sports had no such restrictions and even had peripheral products.
In the end, he chose football.
He also deliberately scheduled Wang Anshi’s article and the football finals on the same day, wanting to see the influence of football.
The result was obvious – the first shot of the New Policies did not affect everyone’s attention to football.
But this did not mean the New Policies lacked influence.
This issue of the Scholar’s Gazette caused quite a stir in court.
The conservatives nearly cursed the roof off, believing that Wang Anshi was the reincarnation of Sang Hongyang!
And Sang Hongyang’s economic policies had absolutely no standing in the Song Dynasty. Back then, Sang Hongyang had provided Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty with finances for warfare, but nearly brought the country to collapse as well.
Facts had already proven this approach was inadvisable.
But they really did not understand economics.
Sang Hongyang’s Balanced Delivery Policy and Wang Anshi’s Balanced Delivery Policy seemed similar, but were essentially different.
Sang Hongyang’s economic policy was to activate the state machinery and extract wealth from across the realm to supply the nation’s wars. The fatal flaw of this policy was that the prolonged warfare did not bring wealth to the Han Empire.
Especially continuing even after eliminating the threats.
Wang Anshi’s Balanced Delivery Policy was merely to solve the supply and demand problems of the capital reduce waste in the process, and incidentally earn some money to supplement the finances.
But to say the two were completely different would also be wrong, since Wang Anshi’s Balanced Delivery Policy was indeed derived from Sang Hongyang’s Balanced Delivery Policy.
Court of Penal Review.
“Academician Sima, I want to return to the Prosecution Office.”
Fan Chunren’s expression was stern as he bowed to Sima Guang.
Sima Guang looked at Fan Chunren’s murderous expression, feeling somewhat unnerved, “Why are you suddenly eager to return to the Prosecution Office?”
Fan Chunren said, “I want to prosecute the Reform Planning Commission for violating ancestral laws.”
Sima Guang frowned, “Violating ancestral laws?”
Fan Chunren nodded, “Correct. According to this Scholar’s Gazette article, if they want to implement the Balanced Delivery Policy, the Transport Commissioners will control the entire tribute system, free from central control and local supervision. Then they can act with impunity, which will certainly produce corruption.
However, this is not the most fatal issue. More fatal is that this will destroy our Great Song’s ancestral laws in one fell swoop, with great power concentrated in one office. The consequences would be unthinkable.”
Actually, Sima Guang had already known the provisions of the Balanced Delivery Policy beforehand, and he also felt some dissatisfaction with certain clauses.
However, he also believed that fixed and unchanging tax-in-kind obligations was wrong and indeed needed to be changed.
His attitude toward this law was that it had both benefits and drawbacks.
But since it had not yet been implemented, he felt they should wait and see.
But Fan Chunren was firmly opposed to doing this. When he read this article, he nearly cursed Wang Anshi as a traitor who would steal the country.
Because this would mean the Transport Commissioners would control the entire nation’s procurement authority, and this was a task spread across the whole country, making it very difficult to supervise this department – everything would be up to them.
Previously, the Song system always said that if you wanted to establish a department, you must first figure out how to supervise that department.
For example, the establishment of the General Police Bureau.
The General Police Bureau’s predecessor was the Patrol and Inspection Bureau, which was managed separately by infantry and cavalry divisions that balanced each other. When merged into the General Police Bureau under the Chamber of State Affairs, new institutions had to be established to supervise the General Police Bureau.
It was just that with judicial reform, there was already a system of mutual supervision – the Prosecution Office, the courts, and the Legal Aid Office. These two government offices and one civilian institution could all supervise the General Police Bureau.
Power was still mutually balanced.
Fan Chunren was very sensitive to centralization of power. At the time, he had readily accepted the Legal Aid Office precisely to ensure they could supervise the General Police Bureau.
However, Wang Anshi had not provided a set of supervisory institutions, because Wang Anshi wanted to improve efficiency. He thoroughly despised these bloated institutions. It had to be said that centralization was the most efficient method – one person making all the decisions.
Sima Guang thought for a moment and said, “Who says there’s no supervision? Don’t you still have your Prosecution Office watching from the side? If there really is corruption, your Prosecution Office can prosecute when the time comes!”
Fan Chunren replied, “It’s not that I haven’t considered this point, but currently only Bianjing has a Prosecution Office in the entire country. However, corruption in the Balanced Delivery Policy cannot possibly occur in the capital – it would mostly happen in local areas. Under current circumstances, establishing Prosecution Offices everywhere would take a very long time, making supervision impossible.”
Just then, another official reported from outside that Deputy Prosecutor Su Shi had arrived.
This Su Shi really knew how to join in the excitement. Sima Guang felt a severe headache coming on.
When Su Shi entered and saw Fan Chunren there, he couldn’t help but show a guarded expression.
Sima Guang didn’t give Su Shi a pleasant look and asked, “What business do you have now?”
Su Shi bowed respectfully and said, “This official intends to prosecute the Balanced Delivery Policy for violating ancestral laws.”
Sima Guang glanced at both of them and laughed, “You two really are birds of a feather – great minds think alike!”
Su Shi quickly said, “Academician Sima speaks incorrectly. He represents the Legal Aid Office, I represent the Prosecution Office – one civilian, one official. They cannot be conflated.”
This time Fan Chunren truly had no mood to compete with Su Shi for the right to prosecution.
Sima Guang was too lazy to argue with him and asked, “On what grounds do you prosecute the Balanced Delivery Policy?”
Su Shi said, “First, this Balanced Delivery Policy puts the cart before the horse. The financial problem lies in the Three Excesses, yet Academician Wang, without first resolving the problem of excess officials, has established a new government office throughout the nation. This will inevitably require establishing a batch of new official positions. With old officials not yet gone and new officials taking office, this will instead increase the financial burden.”
Both Sima Guang and Fan Chunren nodded slightly.
That made quite good sense.
Su Shi continued, “Second, who will supervise this new government office? Though Academician Wang is incorrupt, he cannot oversee everything personally. Internal corruption will inevitably breed, harming the country and people.
It was clearly stated at the time that their Reform Planning Commission would be subject to judicial supervision. I believe the Prosecution Office must fulfill its duties. Unless they revise the regulations to resolve these hidden dangers, the new laws absolutely cannot be allowed to be implemented.”
Sima Guang coughed once, “I am aware of your concerns, but currently, Wang Anshi has only published an article in the Scholar’s Gazette and has not yet formally promulgated new policies. I will discuss this with him when the time comes.
Furthermore, you must remember one point – the Prosecution Office is not the Censorate or Remonstrance Bureau that can memorialize upon hearing rumors. It requires solid evidence. The corruption you speak of has not yet occurred, which is not within the Prosecution Office’s jurisdiction.”
Fan Chunren immediately said, “This has nothing to do with my returning to the Prosecution Office.”
If you want to return, that would be terrible. But Sima Guang said aloud, “I will petition His Majesty about this when the time comes.”
“Thank you, Academician Sima.”
“You may both return now.”
“This official takes leave.”
Sima Guang watched their unwilling expressions and couldn’t help muttering to himself that he probably couldn’t stop them.
As he expected, after Fan Chunren and Su Shi left the palace, they found a nearby teahouse to conspire.
“Academician Sima clearly doesn’t want us to prosecute the Reform Planning Commission,” Fan Chunren said. “I guess that he won’t let me return to the Prosecution Office.”
A flash of joy crossed Su Shi’s eyes, “Really?”
Fan Chunren said gloomily, “Su Shi, at this point we should prioritize state affairs. How can you still be thinking about competing? Rest assured, I won’t compete with you for this case. The question now is whether we actually have the authority to prosecute the Reform Planning Commission.”
Su Shi smiled confidently, “If we prosecute based on ancestral laws, we can produce sufficient evidence, and we can also gain support from many people in court.”
Speaking to this point, he paused slightly, “It’s just that if Wang Anshi enlists Zhang San, we would find it difficult to win.”
Fan Chunren nodded, “The current ancestral laws were actually established by Zhang San, and when he won that case, one key piece of evidence was that ancestral laws were intended to eliminate corrupt policies, which required reform. Currently there are indeed corrupt policies in the tax-in-kind system, and Wang Anshi’s regulations do appear to address the symptoms on the surface. What we worry about has not yet occurred, and Zhang San will certainly make a big issue of this point.”
Su Shi said, “Do you still remember that lawsuit where you defeated Zhang San?”
Fan Chunren nodded, “How could I not remember? Actually, in that lawsuit, Zhang San only appears to have lost.”
Su Shi said, “We can follow that example. We don’t seek victory, we only seek to question how the imperial court should supervise the corruption that might occur.”
Fan Chunren glanced at Su Shi and smiled, “This was just published in today’s Scholar’s Gazette, yet you’ve already considered it in such detail.”
Su Shi just smiled.
Losing to Li Lei last time had ignited Su Shi’s fighting spirit.
During this period, he had been constantly studying litigation, examining Zhang Fei’s case over and over again. Natural talent combined with hard work was the perfect answer.
Meanwhile, Sima Guang had not gone to discuss with Wang Anshi. Things had reached this point, and he knew he could not persuade Wang Anshi, so he went to find Zhang Fei instead.
Since Fan Chunren and Su Shi were planning to file a lawsuit, they had to find a professional.
At this moment, Zhang Fei had just returned to his law firm and was still considering how to organize a football league.
“Violating ancestral laws?”
Zhang Fei stood up in shock.
Sima Guang looked at him, “Why are you so surprised? Isn’t this just copying your approach?”
“That’s different!”
Zhang Fei quickly explained, “When I invoked ancestral laws back then, it was because I had solid evidence. The Shi family’s case truly involved corruption and murder for profit. But now Wang Anshi has merely published an article, and they want to sue using ancestral laws. Isn’t this nonsense?”
Sima Guang immediately asked, “How do you prove they’re being nonsensical?”
“Ah?”
Zhang Fei’s expression froze, and he hurriedly said, “I was just speaking off the cuff. But Academician Sima, why do you ask this?”
Sima Guang sighed, “Although I have the authority to establish the Prosecution Office, I have no power to interfere in its affairs. If they want to file suit, I cannot stop them. Therefore, I wanted to ask you what legal grounds could be used to dismiss their lawsuit.”
Zhang Fei thought carefully, “If they sue using ancestral laws, they can certainly find some basis for it. Therefore, the best reason would be insufficient evidence.”
Ancestral laws were very general; finding basis for them was all too easy. They could only be dismissed using equally general methods.
Sima Guang said, “Insufficient evidence – this argument is hard to convince people with. The judge could also say there’s sufficient evidence.”
Zhang Fei nodded, “If the judge wants to hear this case, then saying these things would be meaningless.”
Sima Guang couldn’t help but sigh.
There were certainly judges who supported them.
Zhang Fei added, “You could tell them that they will definitely lose this lawsuit – there’s no way they can win.”
Sima Guang chuckled, “What? Do you think Wang Anshi will fight this lawsuit with them? They’re clearly trying to give Wang Anshi a show of force. Would Wang Anshi give them any good outcome? And this is what I’m most worried about.”
A gleam flashed in Zhang Fei’s eyes as he slowly sat down.
Sima Guang looked at him, “What are you thinking?”
Zhang Fei was startled, “Academician Sima, I believe Academician Wang’s new policies actually make a lot of sense. The key lies in supervision, and this is the purpose of your judicial reform.”
Sima Guang nodded.
Zhang Fei continued, “Currently, His Majesty firmly supports Academician Wang’s reforms. Continuing to argue is meaningless – we can only wait until the new policies are promulgated and then speak with factual evidence. Therefore, the key to the struggle is not in the capital, but in the local provinces.”
Sima Guang said, “I understand this principle too, which is why I told them not to be so agitated. But I’m afraid they won’t listen to me.”
Zhang Fei said, “What I mean is, if that’s the case, why keep Deputy Prosecutor Su in the capital?”
Sima Guang’s eyes widened, “You mean to use this opportunity to have Su Shi and Fan Chunren demoted out of the capital?”
Zhang Fei nodded, “With Academician Wang here, nothing can go wrong in the capital. If we want to supervise the new policies, we must establish a nationwide network. Keeping talent in the capital now is completely meaningless.”
Sima Guang pondered – if all the talent were sent away, what would happen to him?
Zhang Fei saw his concern and added, “You could send out those upright officials or promising young talents. But you must remain patient and ensure you can stay in the imperial court to provide them with support.
Sima Guang struggled with the decision: “But this public justice system isn’t that simple. There are many intricacies involved that I still haven’t fully grasped. We must proceed step by step. Although Su Shi has talent, his personality is careless about details. He’s fine when I’m watching over him, but if he goes alone, he’ll definitely cause trouble.”
What are you afraid of? When the time comes, I’ll go and take charge of the overall situation myself. Do you think you’re the protagonist? Zhang Fei said, “But what’s the point of keeping them in the capital?”
Sima Guang replied, “I’d rather keep them meaninglessly in the capital than let them sabotage this judicial reform. If we lose the judicial system, then everything is finished.”
I’m really speechless. With your personality, if you could accomplish great things, that would truly be miraculous. Don’t you see how old you are? Still taking it step by step. Zhang Fei said awkwardly, “I was just making a suggestion.”
Sima Guang’s heart was filled with conflict. Fan Chunren had raised this issue before – Wang Anshi’s side was implementing nationwide policies directly, while his side was moving slowly. How could he supervise like this?
But the problem was, he had often criticized Wang Anshi precisely because he believed Wang Anshi was greedy for achievement and recklessly advancing without thorough consideration. If he himself also pursued speed, what difference would there be between them?
After thinking it over, Sima Guang suddenly looked at Zhang Fei. “Speaking of this public justice system, no one is more familiar with it than you.”
Actually, Zhang Fei had made indispensable contributions to establishing the public justice system. It was just that he had just gone with the flow.
Why are you in such a hurry? I will go, but the timing isn’t ripe yet. Zhang Fei smiled awkwardly, “My shop still has a pile of matters to handle.”
Sima Guang said, “Between the two, can’t you distinguish which is more important?”
Zhang Fei pretended to struggle for a moment, then said, “You should arrange for them to go first. If it doesn’t work out, then I’ll go.”
Sima Guang asked, “If they mess up the law, do you have a way to turn the tide?”
Zhang Fei replied, “I do.”
Sima Guang frowned slightly, appearing somewhat hesitant.
Zhang Fei continued, “If you recommend me to go, along with Deputy Prosecutor Su and the others, Academician Wang will immediately see what you are planning. It would be best to have Academician Wang be the one to recommend me to go.”